Fence laws in Asheville, North Carolina
What the Asheville municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Asheville sets no rule of its own, the North Carolina rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Asheville, North Carolina, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Asheville has no statute splitting the cost of a fence on the boundary. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- How tall
- Asheville asks first whether the fence stands inside a minimum setback, and the answer turns on whether the fence is inside a minimum setback. The figure is 6 feet, for fence in the front setback.
- Permits
- The fence section names no zoning permit of its own.
- Pool barriers
- The North Carolina pool safety statute is for public pools, and its scope section leaves out a private pool at a single family home used only by the people living there and their guests.
- Spite fences
- Asheville has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Asheville leaves the measuring rule to a zoning regulation adopted by a local government.
- Corner lots
- No wall or solid fence higher than three and a half feet may stand within the sight visibility triangle of a public street, a private street or a driveway, and the triangle counts whether it falls on the property itself or on an adjoining property, and the answer turns on whether the fence is solid and whose land the triangle sits on. The figure is 42 inches, for solid fence in a sight visibility triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Asheville writes more about retaining walls than about fences, which fits a city built on slopes, and the answer turns on the height of the wall and how close it is to a street. The figure is 8 feet, for wall height that requires facing.
- Materials
- The fence section names no permitted or prohibited material for an ordinary fence, and the only material it regulates is electric current, and the answer turns on the district and what the fence encloses.
- Livestock
- North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Asheville?
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Asheville law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
North Carolina had a boundary fence law and threw it out. Chapter 68 still prints the heading Article 2, Division Fences, and the only thing under it says sections 68-6 through 68-14 were repealed by Session Laws 1971, chapter 741. Article 1, Lawful Fences, went at the same time. Nothing took their place, so the state has no rule at all on splitting the cost of a fence on the line.
This one is North Carolina law, not Asheville law. All North Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina General Assembly
- N.C.G.S. 160D-1110North Carolina General Assembly
How tall can a fence be in Asheville?
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Asheville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is inside a minimum setback.
Asheville asks first whether the fence stands inside a minimum setback. Outside the minimum front, side and rear setbacks a fence or wall may be erected to any height permitted for buildings in that zoning district, which is a far larger figure than any fence rule would normally allow. Inside the minimum front setback the limit is six feet, and inside the minimum side or rear setback it is eight, in both cases unless the thing is serving as a retaining structure, which takes it out of these figures and into the retaining wall section. The heights are also subject to anything else the city code requires, and to the sight visibility triangles. So the shape of the rule is the reverse of the usual one: the restriction follows the setback line rather than the yard.
Fences and walls located outside the minimum front, side, or rear setback may be erected to any height permitted for buildings in the zoning district in which they are located.
The answer turns on whether the fence is inside a minimum setback.
- outside the minimum setbacks
- As tall as a building may be in that district.
- inside the minimum front setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
- inside the minimum side or rear setback
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a retaining structure
- Outside these figures entirely.
Also on fence height in Asheville
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The fence chapter that once held fence standards was repealed, and what is left is about livestock. The building permit statute draws its line at a dollar amount and names no height at all. The city or county development rules set the limit. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Asheville?
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Asheville answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The fence section names no zoning permit of its own. What it does instead is point outward at three documents every fence and wall has to satisfy: the North Carolina State Building Code, the Asheville Fire Prevention Code, and the Asheville Standard Specifications and Details Manual. Naming the fire code alongside the building code is unusual in a fence provision and matters for access and gates. The Standard Specifications and Details Manual is an engineering document, which is where the construction detail for a wall near a street is likely to sit. The one approval the section does describe is the conditional use permit for an electrified security fence in the Commercial Industrial district.
All fences and walls shall comply with the applicable provisions of the North Carolina State Building Code, the Asheville Fire Prevention Code, and the Asheville Standard Specifications and Details Manual.
Also on permits in Asheville
- set in state lawNorth Carolina decides its home permit rule by price, not by height. Work on a single family home that costs forty thousand dollars or less and is done to the current State Building Code needs no permit. A short list of exceptions is left out of that, such as work on load bearing structures or changes to plumbing, heating or electrical systems. An ordinary yard fence costs far less than forty thousand dollars and hits none of those exceptions. N.C.G.S. 160D-1110(c)North Carolina · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Asheville
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The North Carolina pool safety statute is for public pools, and its scope section leaves out a private pool at a single family home used only by the people living there and their guests. It goes further than most states. The pool stays outside the statute even when guests book it through a rental app or pay a fee. One condition comes with that. Where money changes hands for access, the pool has to be kept in good and safe working order. The fence rule for a pool at a house comes from the North Carolina State Building Code instead.
This one is North Carolina law, not Asheville law. All North Carolina findings
A private pool serving a single family dwelling and used only by the residents of the dwelling and their guests, regardless of whether their guests gain use of the private pool through a sharing economy platform or pay a fee for its use.
Spite fence laws in Asheville
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Asheville law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
North Carolina has no spite fence law. What is left of the fence chapter covers livestock running loose, penning up stray animals, and the ponies on the Outer Banks. It names no height and says nothing about why a fence went up. The building permit statute does not cover it either. A claim about a fence built to annoy a neighbor rests on nuisance law made by judges, and on city and county zoning.
This one is North Carolina law, not Asheville law. All North Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina General Assembly
- N.C.G.S. 160D-1110North Carolina General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Asheville
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Asheville does not set this. It leaves it to a zoning regulation adopted by a local government.
North Carolina never says where a fence height is measured from. What is left of Chapter 68 is about stock law fences and penned animals, and it carries no measuring rule. G.S. 160D-702 lets a local government set the height of buildings and other structures. The same section blocks a local government from controlling some design details of a house, and then puts height back outside that block, so height stays a local power. The point the measuring starts from goes with it.
This one is North Carolina law, not Asheville law. All North Carolina findings
a zoning regulation may regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures; the percentage of lots that may be occupied; the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces; the density of population; the location and use of buildings, structures, and land
The code hands this to a zoning regulation adopted by a local government, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence rules for corner lots in Asheville
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Asheville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is solid and whose land the triangle sits on.
No wall or solid fence higher than three and a half feet may stand within the sight visibility triangle of a public street, a private street or a driveway, and the triangle counts whether it falls on the property itself or on an adjoining property. Two things make that broader than the usual rule. Private driveways are named alongside streets, so the point where a driveway meets the road is treated the same as an intersection. And a triangle sitting on the neighbor land still binds the fence, which means the position of something off the lot can cut a fence down. The limit applies to a wall or a solid fence, so an open fence is not caught by the three and a half foot figure, though the general rule in the height subsection says no fence or wall may obstruct the triangles at all. The dimensions are in section 7-11-2.
No wall or solid fence higher than three and one-half feet shall be placed within the sight visibility triangle of a public street, private street, or driveway contained either on the property or on an adjoining property.
The answer turns on whether the fence is solid and whose land the triangle sits on.
- a solid fence or wall in the triangle
- Three and a half feet. 42 in
- a triangle on the neighbor lot
- It still binds the fence.
- any fence or wall
- It may not obstruct the triangles at all.
Also on corner visibility in Asheville
- left to the townNorth Carolina has no clear view triangle in state law. Chapter 160D gathers local development power in one place and lets a local government set the height of structures and the size of yards and open spaces, so a corner rule comes from there. Chapter 136, the highways chapter, covers something else. It talks about seeing past a sign only for political signs put in the right of way, and it sets sight distance standards for driveway permits. Neither one is a rule about a fence on private land. G.S. 160D-702North Carolina · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Asheville
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Asheville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the wall and how close it is to a street.
Asheville writes more about retaining walls than about fences, which fits a city built on slopes. A wall over eight feet has to be faced with natural or artificial stone, brick, form-liner art or patterns, or vegetation, to avoid a stark appearance. A wall or wall section over six feet standing closer than thirty-five feet to a street needs foreground landscaping or attached vegetative screening, and so does any wall over twenty feet wherever it stands. Attached screening means stainless steel or other approved vine supports structurally integrated into the wall. The planting scales with height through a table running from a five foot planting strip with bushes five feet on center at six to ten feet, up to a ten foot strip above thirty. A wall of fifteen feet or less is exempt from the planting if it is faced with natural or artificial stone. Terracing is allowed and encouraged, with no single wall over twenty feet and each successive wall set back at least five feet from the face of the one below, and the planting requirement then follows the cumulative height less one level.
Terracing of retaining walls is allowed and encouraged, provided that no single retaining wall shall exceed 20 feet in height and each successive wall shall be setback at least five feet from the face of the lower wall.
The answer turns on the height of the wall and how close it is to a street.
- a wall over eight feet
- Faced with stone, brick, pattern or vegetation. 8 ft
- a wall over six feet within thirty-five feet of a street
- Foreground landscaping or vine screening. 35 ft
- a terraced wall
- Twenty feet a level, five feet of step back. 20 ft
Also on retaining walls in Asheville
- left to the townNorth Carolina prints no retaining wall rule in its General Statutes. The Building Code Council and the Residential Code Council write and adopt the North Carolina State Building Code, and one of its volumes is the North Carolina Residential Code. Whether a wall that holds back earth needs a permit, and how it has to be built, both sit in that volume and not in the statute. N.C.G.S. 143-138(a)North Carolina · Statute
Fence materials allowed in Asheville
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Asheville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and what the fence encloses.
The fence section names no permitted or prohibited material for an ordinary fence, and the only material it regulates is electric current. Private use of an electrified security fence is allowed only in the Industrial, Commercial Industrial and Light Industrial districts, and only to secure outdoor storage areas, so it is unavailable for a yard, a car park or a building. Within that, the Industrial and Light Industrial districts allow it by right subject to special standards, and the Commercial Industrial district requires a conditional use permit. Two other classes of user are allowed one regardless of district: government facilities and utility facilities, and anywhere the United States Department of Homeland Security requires one for public security purposes.
Private use of electrified security fences shall be allowed only in the Industrial, Commercial Industrial, and Light Industrial districts and only for the purpose of securing outdoor storage areas.
The answer turns on the district and what the fence encloses.
- Industrial or Light Industrial
- By right, with special standards.
- Commercial Industrial
- By conditional use permit.
- a government or utility facility
- Allowed, and required Homeland Security fencing too.
Also on materials in Asheville
- set in state lawNorth Carolina sets one standard for a battery charged security fence and takes the question away from cities. The fence ties into a monitored alarm, sits on land not set aside for homes, and runs off a battery of no more than 12 volts. Its charger has to meet the International Electrotechnical Commission standard. It stands inside a fence or wall that carries no current and is at least 5 feet tall, reaches 10 feet, and carries WARNING-ELECTRIC FENCE signs no more than 30 feet apart. A city may not ban one on land that is not zoned for homes only. N.C.G.S. 160A-194.1North Carolina · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Asheville
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state. Letting livestock run loose is a Class 3 misdemeanor. Livestock here means horses and other animals like them, cattle, sheep, goats, llamas and swine. Anyone may catch and pen an animal found running loose and get back the cost of keeping it plus any damage, and none of that depends on whether the land was fenced.
This one is North Carolina law, not Asheville law. All North Carolina findings
If any person shall allow his livestock to run at large, he shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Also on agricultural fencing in Asheville
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina no longer says what a lawful fence is anywhere in state law. Chapter 68 is called Fences and Stock Law, and sections 68-1 through 68-14, where the old fence specification sat, were repealed in 1969 and 1971. What is left is the livestock law, the process for penning and selling a stray animal, and the Outer Banks sections. None of them set a height, a wire count, a board count or a post spacing. Money owed under the chapter does not depend on the land being fenced, so there is nothing left for a fence standard to hang on. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
Documents behind this page
8 documents, of which 1 was published by Asheville itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 68, Fences and Stock Law
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160D, Article 11, Building Permits
- City of AshevilleAsheville Code of Ordinances, Chapter 7, Section 7-10-3, Fences and walls
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 130A, Article 8, Part 10, Public Swimming Pools
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160D, Local Planning and Development Regulation
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 143, Article 9, Section 143-138, North Carolina State Building Code
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160A, Section 160A-194.1, Regulation of battery-charged security fences
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 68, Fences and Stock Law, Article 3, Livestock Law
What this page does not cover
A city ordinance is not the only rule that reaches a fence. The zoning district a parcel sits in can change the height allowed on it, and so can an overlay district, a recorded easement, a fire hazard severity zone or a coastal zone. A homeowner association can be stricter than the city and nothing in the municipal code will say so. None of those appear here.
The rules above are the ones Asheville publishes, plus the North Carolina rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in North Carolina has the state layer in full.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, ordinances are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean